Huawei exec to seek Canada bail on health grounds

A top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei will seek release from Canadian detention Monday on health grounds, as Beijing escalates its protests over her arrest on a US warrant.

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, faces US fraud charges related to alleged sanctions-breaking dealings with Iran, and has been awaiting a Canadian court's bail decision.

She was detained in Vancouver on December 1 while changing planes during a trip from Hong Kong to Mexico, for possible extradition.

Her arrest has infuriated Beijing, rocking stock markets and raising tensions amid a truce in the US-China trade war.

Beijing's latest outcry over the case also led to the suspension of a planned Canadian forestry trade mission to China this week.

In a sworn 55-page affidavit, Meng said she has been treated in hospital for hypertension since her arrest.

"I continue to feel unwell and I am worried about my health deteriorating while I am incarcerated," the affidavit read.

Meng said that she has had "numerous health problems" during her life, including surgery for thyroid cancer in 2011.

"I wish to remain in Vancouver to contest my extradition and I will contest the allegations at trial in the US if I am ultimately surrendered," she said.

A Chinese vice foreign minister summoned the US and Canadian ambassadors over the weekend, demanding that the US withdraw its arrest warrant and warning Canada that it faces "grave consequences." Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang was critical of Meng's treatment, citing China's state-run Global Times newspaper as reporting that "it seems that the Canadian detention facility is not offering her the necessary health care."